How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?

In the long run, How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? will be remembered as a success of chemistry and careful balance. ... They sound confident and ebullient, and even the darkest moments are tinged with the hope that community and collaboration can bring: the sound of musicians reveling in the sheer, simple joy of making music, with brothers or with the family that they chose.

Though periodically unfocused, it mostly succeeds in not only championing the spirit of collaboration but also accentuating its guests’ artistic strengths. Throughout this record, Vernon and Dessner find joy in community.

The result is a warmly autumnal, subtly adventurous set. [Oct 2021, p.90]

Despite that mid-tracklist lull, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’s existence is welcome. ... Artists want to work with them, and it’s apparent on both Big Red Machine albums that those who choose to do so enjoy it, and therefore make music we enjoy, too.

There’s a lot to love about it. It’s a tad too long, and some of the talent is under-utilized, but Dessner and Vernon have created a worthwhile follow-up to their humble debut.

These are the sounds of adult emotional struggle, thirtysomethings trying to make sense of the end of young adulthood, and to the realization that your troubles won’t go away just because you’re not hitting a bar every night. But it’s Dessner who becomes the most intriguing vocal presence.

How Long is frequently gorgeous, but even on a deliberately messy side project, Dessner and Vernon still feel like they’re holding back.

While How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?'s mellow poignancy is likely to stick more than any of its songs; its pathos is genuine and immersive.

As is always the case with albums of this nature that brim top-to-toe with guests, it’s sometimes hard to locate the thread that runs through it all. Nevertheless, there’s a terrific bounty to be enjoyed in the centre of the Vernon-Dessner Venn diagram.

While Big Red Machine lacked immediate standouts, it was intriguing for its ponderous excursions.

For the most part, though, it’s the album’s more stylistically adventurous songs—like the propulsive “Easy to Sabotage” and “Reese,” which hits on a very particular sort of ‘70s-style jazz-inflected folk-rock also recently explored by the likes of Clairo and St. Vincent—that leave the greatest impression.

Rather than worry about finding an answer, they’re enjoying flexing their musical skill sets, adapting them to artists who fuel their own creative energy, and bringing us along for the journey in the meantime.

Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon’s pet project has become the musical equivalent of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. And unfortunately, barring a few standouts, most of the guests add little spice to the proceedings, assuming they are even detectable at all.